"Coming out”—telling the world that I was a gay man—scared the daylights out of me!!! I think it probably scares everyone, but I have a very conservative job, and a very conservative family, and I was terrified that I would lose everything. At the same time, I knew that I couldn’t continue to live the lie. So, I called Matt Sweet, MSW.

At first, I wasn’t sure that therapy was right for me. The first two sessions were pretty difficult—I was talking about things I didn’t want to talk about!! But Matt was very calm, very patient, and eventually I found myself disclosing to him things that I’d never told another living soul.

Now, it’s been a couple of years, and I feel better for having gone to therapy. I’m out of the closet—and although it was difficult at times—I am glad that I did it. I like my life for the first time ever. I think I have Matt Sweet, MSW, to thank for that.

- 29 year old male

Therapy with Matt was very satisfying. It wasn't always easy, but the end result was worth it.

-31 year old lesbian female

My partner and I are raising a son we adopted. We adopted him when he was 3, and he had just turned 14. He was acting out, and the stress from his behavior was causing our family to fall apart. We realized that we needed family therapy, but we also realized that most therapists are probably not experienced with gay male couples and their children. We heard about Matt from Affirmations [the Detroit GLBT community center], and we went to see him.

From the start I knew we were in the right place. He was very warm, and even our son, who hated everyone at the time, liked Matt! Over time, our son’s acting out decreased, and we learned how to cope with problems in our family. My partner and I are better parents now because of our experience in therapy.

- 48 and 49 year old gay males

Disclaimer: Identities of people giving testimonials have been disguised. Some testimonials are delivered orally and then transcribed, some are delivered in writing. Some testimonials have been edited for content or length.